Circuit Denies Access To Unapproved FDA Drugs

Law360, New York (August 7, 2007, 12:00 AM EDT) -- A divided appellate court on Tuesday denied that terminally-ill patients have a constitutional right to experimental drugs, ruling that government regulators must protect even dying patients from potentially unsafe drugs.

In an 8-2 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment does not cover a terminally-ill patient's right to drugs which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve. The clause provides that “[n]o person shall be...deprived of life, liberty,...